‘Insert name’ ‘Insert date’

Hello! A quick quiz to get started. Question for assembly / class: Can you tell your furry fact from your fuzzy false? If you think the answer is true, stand up. If you think the answer is false, stay sat down. In between each question, please sit back down.

Question for assembly / class: True or False - Orangutan means ‘orange man’

FALSE! Orangutan actually means ‘person of the forest’ in the local Malay language. Why do you think they might be called this? Because they live in the forest – orangutans are the largest tree dwelling mammals on Earth, and they spend 90% of their time in the tree tops eating ripe fruit, young leaves and the occasional termite or vine Orangutans are now found in the wild in forests in Borneo and Sumatra (Indonesia) but they used to also live in forests in China and South East Asia before they became extinct

Question for assembly / class: True or False - Orangutans can use a saw to make things

TRUE! In extraordinary footage broadcast last year as part of the BBC’s Spy in the Wild series, a wild female orangutan is seen using a saw she has found outside a hut to cut through a log – even pausing to blow away sawdust before continuing. https://www.theguardian.com/orangutans-and-palm-oil/2018/aug/17/aping-each-other-how-similar-are-humans-and-orangutans

Question for assembly / class: True or False - Orangutans use umbrellas

TRUE! In the wild, orangutans shelter from the rain by making umbrellas out of leaves. https://www.theguardian.com/orangutans-and-palm-oil/2018/aug/17/aping-each-other-how-similar-are-humans-and-orangutans

Question for assembly / class: True of False - Orangutans have exactly the same DNA as humans

FALSE! – well, it’s almost true! Orangutans don’t have exactly the same DNA but they do share 97% of the same DNA as humans, with their last common ancestor having lived an estimated 12-16m years ago. Only gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees have more DNA in common with humans. https://www.theguardian.com/orangutans-and-palm-oil/2018/aug/17/aping-each-other-how-similar-are-humans-and-orangutans

Question for assembly / class: True or False - Orangutans can live to 45

TRUE! Orangutans in Borneo can live until they are 45, and if orangutans are in captivity, they can sometimes live to 60!

HOWEVER Orangutans are now critically endangered. Question for assembly / class: Does anyone know what this means? (ask children to give their answers) Critically endangered = extremely high risk of extinction in the wild This means that without serious action now, orangutans could no longer exist in the wild. Orangutans are so important they are called a ‘keystone species’, which means that they are an essential part of the way we think and talk about a rainforest. It’s a bit like the game Jenga. If you take one brick out, the whole thing falls. And it’s the same with a rainforest: without orangutans, the rainforest is changed forever. Extension question for class: Does anyone else know any other animals that are endangered of critically endangered?

Question for assembly / class: has anyone heard of Greenpeace? Introduce yourself and what you do for Greenpeace! Greenpeace protects the environment by telling people like you about things that are damaging the environment, and we use that to put pressure on those responsible to change it We have three main ships that travel round the world to spread the word, just like the one above. Explain that you’ve come to talk to them about what is happening to the rainforests that these lovely orangutans and other animals live in, and what Greenpeace is doing to prevent orangutans from becoming extinct.

I’d like to introduce you to a very special orangutan called Rang-tan. Rang-tan lives in a rainforest in Indonesia. Question for assembly / class: Has anybody ever heard of Indonesia? What might the weather / climate be like in a rainforest in Indonesia compared to the weather in the UK? (prompt that it is very close to the equator, probe if they know what this means) Extension for class: Use ‘Think, Pair, Share’ for pupils to share their answers to the question. Pupils could be encouraged to find UK and Indonesia on a map / globe in their classroom

Rainforests are special places because: They provide the area with lots of rain – everything needs water to survive! - Rainforests get between 400-1000 cm of rain each year They provide food and shelter for lots of animals and humans – Millions of people living in communities in and around the forest rely on the forest for their food, their shelter, their work and even their medicines. They prevent flooding - without trees, rain runs off soil and into rivers and streams, raising the water level. Trees help keep soil in place, and their roots soak up water. Even trees' leaves help prevent flooding - when raindrops bounce off them, the water doesn't hit the ground as hard They help us breathe - they use sunlight and absorb the carbon dioxide produced by humans and transport and turn it into oxygen, Question for assembly / class: Rang-tan shares the forest with lots of other amazing animals – does anyone know of any?

In fact, between 10-15% (for younger age groups use 1 out of 10) of all known species of plants, mammals and birds are found there, including tigers, rhinos and elephants (On a landmass less than 1% of the Earth!) Species that no one has ever heard of that are even new to science are being discovered there on a regular basis. Here are some of the animals Rang-tan shares the forest with: Top left: Sumatran tiger Middle left: Cassowary Bottom left: Hornbill Top right: Sumatran Rhino Middle Right: Babirusa Bottom Right: Flying Fox Bat Millions of people also share the forest with these amazing animals, making their livelihood from the forest and depending on it for their food and shelter. Question for class: In a moment, we’re going to watch a story about Rang-tan and his life in the rainforest, but first I’d like you to imagine what Rang-tan might see around him when he wakes up in the morning (for example lush rainforest, trees, rain, Sumatran tiger) Can anyone use this sentence starter to help you describe how Rang-tan woke up? I woke up in the morning and …. (for older students, encourage them to use adjectives to describe what Rang-tan saw and felt)

Unfortunately something is happening in the rainforests that means that life is changing for all of these animals and humans sharing the forest. Let’s watch Rang-tan’s story – while you’re watching, think about what is happening, as we’ll be discussing what happened https://youtu.be/TQQXstNh45g (NB some schools may not be able to watch You Tube content on their systems, so it would be good if presenters have the video saved on their USB drive? We could embed the video but it will make the file huge)

Question for assembly / class: What was happening to the rainforest? Humans were coming in cutting down the trees They were burning the land They were destroying the habitat of the orangutans (‘taking Rang-tan’s mother’) by burning the land Deforestation means clearing a wide area of trees, with the land no longer being used for as a forest Shockingly, an area the size of a football pitch is lost in Indonesia every 25 seconds And 25 orangutans are lost everyday Extension question for assembly / class: How do you think Rang-tan and the other animals and humans might have felt? Why? Scared, frightened, helpless, full of grief Why were the companies destroying the forest? They wanted to use the palm oil found in the rainforests

So what is Palm oil? It can be produced from both the red flesh of the fruit and the nut inside (to produce palm kernel oil) It is the worlds’ most popular vegetable oil And unlike many other crops, you can harvest it all year round (If asked by someone, it’s turned into oil by: It’s then transported to the company making the final product) Which is transported to refineries. Once it arrives, it may be processed further still at another refinery. They are crushed and turned into crude palm oil. Fruit bunches harvested on the plantations and delivered by truck to nearby mills. Question for assembly / class: Who did the following this morning – put your hands up: Brushed your teeth? Had peanut butter on your toast? Washed your hands with soap/handwash? Ate a biscuit?

Well, even though you’re unlikely to have used palm oil to cook with this morning, it is likely that some of those products you used to clean your teeth, eat for breakfast and wash your hands contained palm oil. In fact, 50% of everything supermarkets sell contain it.

So what have Greenpeace being doing about this? We can’t expect people to stop using products that contain palm oil, as it is found in so many products. But what Greenpeace can do is campaign for companies to: Reuse land that’s already been used for palm oil Not use virgin rainforest, which means rainforest that hasn’t yet been touched Some companies such as Nestle and Mars have listened to our campaigns and have made promises to stop deforestation. Sadly though, not a lot has changed., partly because these brands aren’t doing what they promised.

What can you do? Like the little girl in the animation, you could: Create a poster that raises awareness of palm oil production and deforestation, and its impact on orangutans and others living in the forest. If you’d like to share your posters with us, we’ll display your posters on our website to help share your message.